Knowledge and Technological Innovation for Global Competitiveness: Gender Mainstreaming and Technological Innovation for County Governments

Abstract

Devolution is a problem Kenya as a country is slowly and effectively embracing, gender mainstreaming is one of the many aspects and a major problem in the devolved government that most counties and country at large has not effectively exploited. Therefore gender mainstreaming in tandem with knowledge, science and technological innovation needs to be a prerequisites for most counties in order to achieve competitive advantage at local and global levels. This paper opens a discussion on what it mean to lead gender equality mainstreaming in the context of significant changes in equality legislation, knowledge, and technological innovation and in the governance of the public services at county and national levels. This paper is purely theoretical, with an attempt to analyse various written works that will impact positively to the community since it contributes to a growing stream of feminist and critical leadership research that is concerned with the gendered, relational and interpretive practices of leading towards achieving global competitiveness. It also contributes to research into forms of leadership in relation to gender mainstreaming that are emerging in the context of changes in the public services in Kenya and more widely in the African Nations. This paper significantly marks an important milestone in establishing how far gender mainstreaming in knowledge, science and technological innovation can lead to global competitiveness and significantly embrace women equality, knowledge and expertise in the devolved government. It focuses on the concepts of gender mainstreaming, its dimensions and implications for effective leadership and development at county governments and for achieving competitive advantage at local and global level.